How to grow Venus flytraps best? Detailed guide to care methods and precautions
The Venus flytrap is a perennial herbaceous plant native to North America, a very interesting carnivorous plant with a very short stem, and at the tip of each leaf grows a trap that closely resembles a “shell”, which can secrete nectar; when a small insect intrudes, it can clamp it shut at extremely fast speed and digest and absorb it. Now let us take a look together at how to grow Venus flytraps best!
The growth habits of the Venus flytrap
The Venus flytrap likes cool, moist environments and needs plenty of light during the growing season. Its suitable growth temperature is 15-20°C, and indoors it should be placed in a bright spot. In summer, when temperatures are high, direct sunlight leads to poor growth, so shading should be provided; especially in the tropical and subtropical regions of the south, excessive heat must be prevented to avoid affecting growth. In winter in northern regions, it should be brought into a greenhouse or into the home of a household with heating, placed where sunlight can reach it, and kept at a temperature above 10°C, never below 7°C, to avoid frost damage that causes leaf drop.
Asexual propagation of the Venus flytrap
1. Leaf cutting method: Peel a whole leaf off the mother plant, insert it diagonally or lay it flat on a clean substrate such as sphagnum moss, keep humidity high and light bright, and in about 2 months buds can grow.
2. Division method: The Venus flytrap frequently produces side shoots; when they grow large enough, the divided bulbs separate naturally from the mother plant, at which point they can be dug out and grown separately or separated and planted when repotting.
3. Flower bud method: The flower buds of the Venus flytrap sometimes turn into a plant. This phenomenon is known to be caused by temperature differences; if the day-night temperature difference is very large, it will induce the flower buds of the Venus flytrap to transform into new plants. At this point this small plant can be cut off and planted in soil, and it becomes another new Venus flytrap.
Seed propagation of the Venus flytrap
1. Flower pot: Fill the pot with substrate, then place it in a glass tank or water basin containing purified water, so that the substrate absorbs water until the surface is moist, then use a spray bottle to mist the surface (fine mist spray).
2. Sowing: Carefully open the seed packet, evenly scatter the seeds on the surface of the substrate, and cover with 0.3 cm of potting soil.
3. Spraying: Use a spray bottle to mist the surface (fine mist spray), spraying carefully so the seeds are not washed away.
4. Cultivation: Place the pot with the sown seeds together with the glass tank or water basin on the inner side of a sunny windowsill; if using a water basin, add a plastic cover with an opening at the top to retain moisture. Remember to replenish water in time; germination generally occurs in about 10 days (at 20 degrees).
5. Seedling establishment: When the seedlings grow 2-3 true leaves, they can be transplanted. For transplanting, use sphagnum moss to wrap the base of the plant (not too high, just enough to wrap the roots), with a certain firmness (when pinched with fingers, it should sink and then spring back to shape). After transplanting, water thoroughly with clean water to settle the roots.
How to grow the Venus flytrap
1. Substrate: Growing Venus flytraps requires a substrate with good water retention that is acidic or even strongly acidic, with a pH between 3 and 5. You can use pure sphagnum moss, or a mixed substrate of 2 parts peat plus 1 part perlite or coarse sand; for tray watering cultivation, a mix of 1 part peat and 1 part perlite or coarse sand can be used. When planting, bury the entire white bulb portion in the substrate; if the leaves curve downward and make this difficult, you can wrap the stem in sphagnum moss for easier insertion, or lift the leaves upward before inserting. The substrate can generally be changed once every one or two years according to actual use; repotting before growth begins in early spring is best. When repotting, clean away dead leaves thoroughly, and if there are divisions they should be planted separately to promote growth. The Venus flytrap bulb grows creeping, and after a period the plant shifts position in order to obtain more nutrients; when repotting, replant it in the center of the pot or leave more distance in the direction of the growth point.
2. Water: The Venus flytrap is relatively sensitive to salt; excessively high mineral concentration in water will cause the plant to decline until death, shown by the plant stopping growth or shrinking, and non-aged traps, leaf edges, and growing tips beginning to wither. Therefore water with low mineral content must be used. The Venus flytrap likes moisture and cannot tolerate dryness; during the growing season the substrate must be kept fairly moist but not waterlogged. Besides regular watering, low-water-level tray watering can also be used. The substrate absolutely must not dry out completely; once dry, the plant shrinks and suffers severe damage or even death. During dormancy the substrate should be kept damp but not wet; if too wet, the plant easily rots.
3. Humidity: The air humidity for Venus flytraps should be kept above 50%. General growing environments can satisfy this, with no special humidification needed, as long as the potting soil is moist. But newly planted Venus flytraps must be kept at high humidity to avoid dehydration and shrinking; after the roots develop and the plant begins normal growth, gradually lower the air humidity.
4. Temperature: The suitable growth temperature is 20-30 degrees, and it can survive at -7 to 38 degrees. High summer temperatures (maximum temperature above 35 degrees) easily cause stem rot; good ventilation in the environment, root zone cooling, good light, and a large day-night temperature difference all help reduce the occurrence of disease. When winter temperatures fall below 10 degrees it enters dormancy; during dormancy most leaves wither, leaving only the very small dormant leaves at the center. If the temperature drops further to around 0 degrees, the leaves and roots may all wither, leaving only the underground bulb to overwinter. The dormant bulb is fairly frost-resistant and can withstand short periods of low temperature down to -7 degrees.
5. Light: The Venus flytrap is a light-loving plant and can accept full sun; suitable light makes the plant strong, with larger traps and vivid colors. But in summer, to avoid high temperatures, appropriate shading can be used: shade with a shade net of about 50% shading rate, or place it in a bright spot that does not get sun around midday. Insufficient light makes the plant weak and slow-growing, with dark green, thin, tender leaves and small traps; traps or leaf stalks that are normally red turn green (in this situation, do not provide strong light immediately, to avoid sunburn from not being acclimated; instead increase light gradually).
6. Nutrients: During the growing season, a general-purpose compound fertilizer diluted five thousand times can be sprayed on the leaves, 1-2 times per month. When fertilizing, it is better to use dilute fertilizer frequently; never use too high a concentration, to avoid the serious consequences of fertilizer burn or even fertilizer death. If you have no experience, do not fertilize at will. You can also use the feeding method, feeding insects or fresh lean meat, and the size must be appropriate, preferably about 1/3 the size of the trap, so the trap can completely enclose the food; the number of traps fed must not exceed 1/3 of the total number of traps. But even without fertilizing or feeding, the Venus flytrap will not “starve to death”; the substrate also contains necessary nutrients, and the plant must also obtain growth through photosynthesis. Feeding cannot replace photosynthesis either, so good light must still be maintained.
7. Pests and diseases: In the hot, humid summer, leaf spot and stem rot easily occur, and a broad-spectrum fungicide can be sprayed for control. Good ventilation in the environment, root zone cooling, good light, and a large day-night temperature difference all help reduce the occurrence of disease. If part of the stem is found to have rotted, immediately remove the rotted part completely, then soak it in fungicide for 5 minutes, and replant it in a sterilized, clean substrate.
How to grow the Venus flytrap? Care methods and precautions for the Venus flytrap
[Common questions] How to grow the Venus flytrap? Care methods and precautions for the Venus flytrap
[Expert answer]
1. Light: A swamp plant, its native environment has no tall plants for shade, and it likes sunlight. In home cultivation, it can receive full sun in spring, autumn, and winter; in southern summers, add 50% shade or simply place it on a sunny indoor windowsill. Alternatively, use a 40W lamp tube positioned 750px above the plant for artificial light cultivation, with a lighting duration of 12 hours/day.
2. Water: Use soft water such as purified water or rainwater as much as possible. Use the tray watering method (called the “waist water” method in Hong Kong, China and Taiwan, China) to create a small environment similar to its native habitat. The specific method is: place the Venus flytrap's pot in a tray or glass tank, add water to a depth of 75px, and replenish water regularly.
3. Humidity: Greater than 50%. The native environment of the Venus flytrap is a swamp-type grassland with relatively high humidity. If you can use a large water tray for waist water, the nearby humidity will be a bit higher. You can also add a layer of sphagnum moss on the surface of the pot's soil, which also helps maintain air humidity.
4. Substrate: Peat with no added fertilizer, with granular material (perlite, gravel, etc.) at 1:1, or pure sphagnum moss. The substrate must be changed once every spring. Note that the Venus flytrap prefers somewhat acidic soil. When potting, the bottom of the pot needs a layer of broken tiles.
5. Temperature: Growth temperature 15°C-35°C, suitable temperature: 21-35°C. In winter, if you want it to go dormant, it must be kept at around 5°C (0-8°C). But based on many years of care experience, not going through dormancy has no obvious effect on normal growth the following year.
6. Feeding: Please do not force them to eat too much; they will catch food themselves. At most, feed arthropods (insects, spiders, etc.) on only 2 leaves. Their digestive juices can hardly digest meats people eat daily, such as beef and chicken.
7. Fertilizing: The root systems of carnivorous plants are extremely intolerant of salt; applying fertilizer directly into the substrate will cause the plant's death, so low-concentration liquid fertilizer should be sprayed on the leaves. If using commercially available foliage plant fertilizer, apply at 1/5 of the recommended concentration, spraying once every 2 weeks during the growing season.
[Editor's comments] The Venus flytrap is a perennial herbaceous plant that can live twenty or thirty years; four or five years after seed germination it can bloom and bear fruit. Placing a pot on the windowsill can catch mosquitoes and insects. So, how do you grow the Venus flytrap? The editor of First Agricultural Economics above has introduced the care methods and precautions for the Venus flytrap, and hopes it is helpful to you.
How to grow the Venus flytrap: care methods and precautions for the Venus flytrap
Has everyone heard of the Venus flytrap? Do you know how to grow the Venus flytrap? Today's editor will tell everyone the care methods and precautions for the Venus flytrap.
Care methods for the Venus flytrap:
1. Light: A swamp plant, its native environment has no tall plants for shade, and it likes sunlight. In home cultivation, it can receive full sun in spring, autumn, and winter; in southern summers, add 50% shade or simply place it on a sunny indoor windowsill. Alternatively, use a 40W lamp tube positioned 750px above the plant for artificial light cultivation, with a lighting duration of 12 hours/day.
2. Water: Use soft water such as purified water or rainwater as much as possible. Use the tray watering method (called the "waist water" method in Hong Kong, China and Taiwan, China) to create a small environment similar to its native habitat. The specific method is: place the Venus flytrap's pot in a tray or glass tank, add water to a depth of 75px, and replenish water regularly.
3. Humidity: Greater than 50%. The native environment of the Venus flytrap is a swamp-type grassland with relatively high humidity. If you can use a large water tray for waist water, the nearby humidity will be a bit higher. You can also add a layer of sphagnum moss on the surface of the pot's soil, which also helps maintain air humidity.
4. Substrate: Peat with no added fertilizer, with granular material (perlite, gravel, etc.) at 1:1, or pure sphagnum moss. The substrate must be changed once every spring. Note that the Venus flytrap prefers somewhat acidic soil. When potting, the bottom of the pot needs a layer of broken tiles.
5. Temperature: Growth temperature 15°C-35°C, suitable temperature: 21-35°C. In winter, if you want it to go dormant, it must be kept at around 5°C (0-8°C). But based on many years of care experience, not going through dormancy has no obvious effect on normal growth the following year.
6. Feeding: Please do not force them to eat too much; they will catch food themselves. At most, feed arthropods (insects, spiders, etc.) on only 2 leaves. Their digestive juices can hardly digest meats people eat daily, such as beef and chicken.
7. Fertilizing: The root systems of carnivorous plants are extremely intolerant of salt; applying fertilizer directly into the substrate will cause the plant's death, so low-concentration liquid fertilizer should be sprayed on the leaves. If using commercially available foliage plant fertilizer, apply at 1/5 of the recommended concentration, spraying once every 2 weeks during the growing season.
Precautions for growing the Venus flytrap:
1. Plenty of light
The Venus flytrap likes sunlight, and receiving plenty of light is very beneficial to its growth; conversely, dark places without light are unfavorable to its growth and cause growth to stall. So by no means should you place it long-term in a dark place with many mosquitoes and flies just to make it play its "fly-catching" role.
2. Plenty of water. A moist environment is likewise what the Venus flytrap likes, and keeping the soil moist with watering for a long time will not cause harm. Of course, common sense is still needed: do not use tap water to water it
3. Do not apply concentrated fertilizer
Fertilizer that is too concentrated, especially inorganic fertilizer, will cause great harm to the Venus flytrap, because its roots are relatively poor in salt tolerance, and concentrated fertilizer easily causes excessive water loss and death. So dilute fertilizer or liquid fertilizer is a more suitable choice